Career commitment and turnover intention for engineers in Australia

Type of content
Reports
Publisher's DOI/URI
Thesis discipline
Degree name
Publisher
University of Canterbury
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Language
Date
2024
Authors
Williams, Holly
Djung, Sarah
Beckert, Nic
Crossin, Enda
Näswall, Katharina
Abstract

Executive Summary: The engineering profession is undergoing significant changes due to automation and shifting career dynamics, highlighting a critical need for longitudinal research to better understand the evolving nature of engineering practice and its implications. This report aims to re-examine hypotheses concerning belonging, engineering identities, self-efficacy, wellbeing, career commitment, and turnover intentions, exploring the factors that influence Australian engineers to leave their jobs or report higher levels of career satisfaction and commitment. The methods involved descriptive analysis of correlations between factors, followed by regression modelling to identify the most significant predictors of career outlook and wellbeing, as well as determining which baseline factors could predict job departure within 12 months. The study found that Australian engineers generally reported strong career commitment, high wellbeing, and low turnover intentions, with belonging and meaningful work emerging as the most significant predictors of positive career outlook and wellbeing, while high turnover intentions were the sole significant predictor of voluntary job departure within 12 months. This report concludes that enhancing the sense of belonging and meaningful work are the most crucial factors in shaping the career outlook and wellbeing of Australian engineers, with supervisor support proving significantly more important than coworker support. Identifying the drivers of belonging and meaningful work is essential for fostering stronger work environments where Australian engineers feel committed and satisfied in their careers. Further research is required to explore confounding factors, such as gender and age, which may offer additional insights into career outlook.

Description
Report for Engineers Australia
Citation
Keywords
Ngā upoko tukutuku/Māori subject headings
ANZSRC fields of research
40 - Engineering::4010 - Engineering practice and education
Rights
All Rights Reserved